


The Start

by FutagoNoAkumaShimai



Series: One Day at a Time [1]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Child Neglect, Dead Parent(s) Club, Drug Use, Expelled out of College, F/M, Friends to Lovers, German Shepherd from Season One, Infected, Martina speaks Spanish, Spainard Descent, Start of the Apocalypse, Teen Pregnancy, Zombies, high school drop out, immigrant family, season one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FutagoNoAkumaShimai/pseuds/FutagoNoAkumaShimai
Summary: Martina Ruiz had to grow up quickly.Both of her parents had died -though not at the same time- before she hit seventeen. Her mother's death had officially left her and her little brother, Lukas, all alone in the world. If she was being truly honest with herself... their mother had 'checked out' long before she actually died.The only constant she had throughout all of this mess was Nick. Sure, Nick had his faults- and was it necessarily wise of her to love a drug addict? Not really, but Martina loved him anyway. She'd had since... well, for a long time, though she hadn't pieced it together until three months ago. Martina loved him.Even if they weren't exactly talking right now...Then the world, which hadn't been an easy place for her to mauver in the first place, ends.Everything changes... Except for one thing really, and that's Nick.-----------------------------------------------------------(Cross-Posted on Fanfiction.net under the PenName: Futago No Akuka Shimai; small differences as this one is better edited)
Relationships: Nick Clark & Original Female Character(s) & Original Child Character(s), Nick Clark/Original Female Character(s)
Series: One Day at a Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762981
Comments: 9
Kudos: 10





	1. The Ruiz Siblings

The sun burning her eyelids as it peaked through the blinds was what woke her up. Martina groaned, rubbing her eyes and turning away from the offensive light. It was too late anyway... she blinked her grey eyes open, silently cursing herself for forgetting to shut the blinds the night before.

Sighing she gingerly sat up and stretched, her back popped delightfully before she began rolling her neck. A peek at the silent alarm clock on her messy nightstand let her know that it was ten minutes to seven and that she needed to start prepping breakfast. Martina rolled off her bed and blindly searched for her slippers with her feet while she grabbed her blue robe and pulled it on. A quick peek into Lukas' bedroom as she made her way into the small kitchen let her know that her brother was still sleeping peacefully.

Her brother was somewhat of a picky eater, but he never said 'no' to the sweet creamy oatmeal Martina had perfected over the years. She quickly got all of the supplies out and began making their breakfast out of muscle memory as her tired mind wandered. Martina could hear her brother's alarm go off and Lukas' disgruntled groans as he stumbled out of bed and shut it off. The familiar complaints painted a smile across her face. It made the late nights and the seemingly never-ending work shifts completely worth it. Last night she'd been stocking the shelves at Walmart for five hours, Martina had finally gotten home at three-thirty in the morning.

Her shift at the library would start twenty minutes after dropping Lukas off at the elementary school and end half an hour before she needed to go pick him back up. She'd spend those precious free hours tending to Lukas and completing the chores around the house before putting her brother to bed and making her way back to the Walmart to stock shelves at night. That is except for Tuesdays and Thursdays which were movie days, where she worked at the local theater from four to six in the afternoons as a movie projectionist before taking Lukas home and helping him finish up his homework and prep him for bed. Movie days were Lukas' favorite of all her workdays since she was able to get her brother into the theater to watch movies for free.

Lukas stumbled into the kitchen and plopped down in his chair just as Martina started pouring the oatmeal into bowls. Her brother gave her a sleepy grin as he started to spoon it into his mouth. Martina had finally sat down when she noticed how messy her brother's bedhead was, a small snort escaped from her throat which only earned her a curious look from the six-year-old.

"What?" he questioned, looking a lot more awake now than he had a few minutes ago.

Martina shook her head, "Nothing, come on Lukas, let's hurry up. We gotta get you dressed for school okay."

"Hmm, 'kay. Today's movie day right?" Lukas asked as wiggled in his seat excitedly.

"Yup." Martina confirmed, " _But_ if Ms. Caroline tells me you had a bad day, you can't watch any movies during my shift and instead you'll have to sit in the projection room with me."

"I'll be good! Promise!" Lukas crowed as he scrapped the last of his oatmeal off his bowl before scampering into his room to change. "Marty! Can I wear whatever I want?"

Martina sighed good-naturedly, picking up their now empty bowls and depositing them in the sink before heading to Lukas' room. It took her thirty minutes to get Lukas ready for school, ten minutes to shower and dress herself, and another five to make Lukas his grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. By the time they were in front of the elementary school, it was seven-fifty so Lukas had some time to play with his friends in their classroom. Martina shot his teacher a smile as she made her way out of the classroom before starting a light jog to get to the library on time.

She smiled at Ms. Williams, a fellow librarian, on her way in before going into the backroom to clock in. The first three hours of her day were somewhat normal, fewer and fewer patrons had been coming into the library during the past two weeks. Ms. Williams had pulled her to the side and told her that a new strain of the flu was going around and _that_ was the reason why there had been fewer faces visiting the library. Martina was only happy that the fewer patrons around meant more time for her to relax at her desk. _Especially_ after the long shift she'd pulled last night.

It wasn't going to last forever. Martina would have to quit the stocking job next month, her body wouldn't be able to handle the strain much longer... she would probably start pulling more shifts at the movie theater on the weekend to compensate, which wasn't too bad since it wasn't as physically demanding. Still, Martina would miss the pay that came from her job shelving items at the Walmart. She'd been able to put together a very nice nest egg, which would be _very_ necessary for the coming months, especially when she'd either get too big to work or on maternity leave. It wasn't going to be easy juggling an infant, her kid brother, _and_ working but Martina wasn't going to give up so easily.

The baby would be born late August or early September and Nana Peyton, the old childless woman who lived in the apartment next door, had excitedly promised to help Martina with babysitting when the time came. Lukas already knew about the new addition that would be joining their household, and her little brother was pretty thrilled about it. Though, he wasn't really understanding that he would be the baby's uncle, _not_ brother. Oh well, she wasn't going to burst that particular bubble just yet. She had an OB/GYN appointment at one, her first _real_ appointment if she didn't count the one where they confirmed that she was actually pregnant.

At _nineteen_.

Her _papi_ would have been so disappointed in her.

Then again, he would have been so disappointed with _many_ things that had gone down in her life since he'd died. Martina had to drop out of high school in her junior year when mama had the most debilitating mental breakdown she'd ever had before. Lukas was almost three years old when that happened and someone needed to take care of him while their mother rocked herself back and forth on the floor in a corner of the room.

Martina had started working just to feed herself and Lukas, while her mother turned to drugs once more to escape from her painful reality. It wasn't like Martina didn't understand. They'd both _lost_ so much when the accident happened. She'd lost her father and her fraternal twin brother Marcos. Her mother had lost her beloved husband and her son.

But, _unlike_ her mother, Martina _grieved_ their absence before picking herself up and moving forward. It was honestly a relief when her mother overdosed a year ago and died. She hadn't been Martina's mother in years and only an additional hurdle she had to deal with during her day. It had been a bit difficult to get the complete custody of Lukas, but it was easier after she proved to CPS that Martina could provide for her brother. After all, she'd been doing it since she was sixteen.

A persistent buzz brought her out of her thoughts and back to her desk. Thankfully the familiar vibration of her phone wasn't disturbing any patrons since there was no one in her section. 

"Hello?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1293
> 
> __________
> 
>   
> Martina Ruiz


	2. Two of Everything

Great. Just _great_.

The elementary school _closed_ , the principle had sent an automated message to all of the parents letting them know that the once full-day was being turned into a half-day on account of the freaking virus going around. Now Martina had to clock out early, run to pick up Lukas, and then run to make it to her appointment at planned parenthood. She internally cursed herself for not taking the SUV this morning, but it was too late anyway to make a difference. When she caught sight of Lukas, a relieved sigh escaped from her lips, Martina quickly signed him out before grabbing his hand and informing him that they had to go to a doctor's appointment for the baby. Lukas hadn't protested and chattered about his strange day on their way.

Thankfully, it didn't take them too long to get to planned parenthood, they even got there early and the lady at the front desk bumped her appointment up so that Martina would be seen sooner. Lukas was cutely sitting in the spare chair while they waited for the doctor to come in. After the nurse came in and did the preliminary check-up, she sat on the inclined exam table and began shooting silly faces at Lukas making the six-year-old giggle joyfully. A knock on the door made their eyes jump to the other side of the room as the dark-skinned doctor walked in.

The woman beamed at her as she strolled in and sat in her swivel chair after disinfecting her hands, "Hello again Ms. Ruiz. You are ten weeks now, yes? How are you feelin'?"

Martina shot the doctor a tired smile, "Good. Tired, but good."

"Good, good! Any mornin' sickness, aches?" Dr. Signore asked.

"No." she offered, " Not really. Some back pain, but I think that's from work. My breasts have been a little tender but, thankfully no morning sickness."

Dr. Signore laughed, "The tenderness is normal, but you should consider ceasin' heavy liftin'. It's not good fer the mama or the baby. You've been takin' all of your prenatal vitamins?"

Martina nodded, "Yes. Every day."

"Wonderful, happy to hear that. So, we are goin' to be taking some ultrasound pictures today and see how everythin' is going in there with the baby. Are you excited?"

"YES!" Lukas piped up, "I really wanna see the baby! I couldn't really see him in the last picture!"

Martina giggled, "My brother is convinced the baby is a boy. He wants someone to play with."

Dr. Signore smiled as she wheeled the ultrasound machine closer and motioned for Martina to lift up her shirt, "Well we won' be findin' out the gender just yet, it'll be another six weeks until we can find out if its a boy or girl."

"Aww," Lukas pouted as he got closer to her free side.

Martina rubbed his hair lovingly, flinching slightly at the cool gel squirted onto her protruded abdomen. The doctor waved the wand over the gel spreading it across her stomach as the machine's screen went from black to shades of grey as it searched out for a glimpse of her baby. The sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the air making Lukas gasp as he leaned in even closer to look at the screen. Martina's own heart was speeding up in anticipation and already a traitorous sheen was coating over her eyes. A small grey blob that was suspiciously human-shaped moved on the screen. Her eyes only strayed from the screen when Dr. Signore let out a small gasp.

"What? Is something wrong?" Martina blurted out, her heart now racing for an entirely different reason.

The woman sent her a surprised smile, "No, not necessarily, you mentioned durin' your fist appointment that twins ran in the family."

"Yes." she croaked out. Lukas was gripping tightly onto the bunched up fabric of her shirt but Martina couldn't bring herself to look away from the doctor to comfort him.

Dr. Signore nodded, "Well it looks like one of the babies was hiding behind its sibling."

She could see spots dancing across her vision, her throat suddenly parched, "So, so that means- twi-twi-"

"Yes. Twins." the woman spoke confidently as she turned to look back at the screen, "Fraternal from the look of it, yes, I see two separate-"

White noise rang in Martina's ears. Twins. Fraternal twins. Just like she and Marcos were. Her brother, her best friend from the womb who'd died before he even got to see the birth of their little brother. God. She was going to be the mother of _two babies_. Two. That would mean two of everything. Two sets of clothes, two cribs, two strollers- well a double stroller, two car seats for her car, two children. Two children that were _hers_ growing inside of Martina. Depending on her, trusting her with their tiny lives. She was going to be the mother of two beautiful babies.

"-tina? Martina? Are you listening dear?" Dr. Signore spoke in a soft concerned voice.

Martina blinked, almost confused even when she realized where she was before embarrassment colored her cheeks red. "Right, sorry. I- Just, _two_."

The older woman shot her an understanding smile, "Yes, dear, it can be a bit of a shock. I already printed two pictures of the ultrasound, Lukas is holdin' them. Now when the nurse weighed you earlier you were at a healthy weight so far for one baby, but for two, you're just a little underweight. I'd like you to gain about five more pounds for me. With twins, it's important for you to eat right so that both of the babies receive the nutrition they need to reach a healthy birthing weight."

Martina nodded as the doctor handed her a wipe and began to help her get rid of the gel on her stomach, "Alright, five pounds. I can do that."

"Good. Your mother carried you and your brother full-term yes?"

She nodded once more, "We weren't born through a c-section either."

Dr. Signore nodded happily once more before instructing her, "Wonderful. Now I want you to keep takin' your vitamins and the folic acid. Let's set up an appointment for two weeks from now. I want to keep a closer eye on you since this is your first pregnancy and it is with multiples. Sarah, at the front desk, will set it up for you and give you the receipt for the pharmacy to get your medication."

"Th-Thank you." Martina stammered out as the woman shot her another smile before walking out of the room.

"Marty, does this mean you have two babies in your tummy?" Lukas asked hesitantly as he stared at the black and white image in his hand.

An astonished breath escaped from her lips as Martina nodded, "Yup. Two babies."

Lukas looked up and locked his light brown eyes with her own grey ones, "Don't worry Marty. I'll protect them."

A choked giggle escaped from her throat as she hopped down from the exam table and pulled her brother into a hug. "I know you will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1182


	3. Love can turn you into a the biggest Fool

Martina decided that they may as well get her medications from the pharmacy before finally heading home. Lukas didn't put up much of fuss, especially when she promised that he could pick out one candy from the front since he'd been so good during her appointment. It was only after they'd finally settled at home when she received a not so welcomed phone call.

She'd been sitting at the kitchen table, helping Lukas with the minuscule amount of homework he'd been assigned when her small cheap flip phone started buzzing incessantly. "Sorry squirt, give me a second." Martina murmured to him as she dug out the contraption from her small purse. She lovingly stroked the newly printed images of her unborn children before picking up the phone without looking at the ID. "Hello?"

"Martina? This Madison Clark. Nick's mom?"

Martina held her breath in, "Yes, hello Mrs. Clark. This was kind of unexpected, is there something I can help you with?"

"Have you seen Nick? We're looking for him. He was in an accident recently but he ran away from the hospital this morning." Mrs. Clark rushed out.

"I-I, no. I haven't seen him in three months." Martina stammered as she tried to process the information being unloaded on her, "Nick was in an accident? Is he okay? Was he really hurt?"

Mrs. Clark sighed with disappointment, "He was brought in after he ran into traffic. Nick wasn't too badly injured, the majority of his problems are coming from whatever he was taking. Listen, Martina. Please just call me if you see him or if he gets in touch with you."

"Yeah." Martina gasped out, "Just- Mrs. Clark, I know you don't like me very much- but please, _please_ , tell him to call me when you find him. I-I have something really important to talk about with him."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, "I'll let him know." the woman spoke abruptly before hanging up the phone.

Martina let the flip phone slip from her grip onto the table before she started to run her fingers through her short brown locks nervously. God damn it, Nick. When she yelled at him to get the hell out of her apartment three months ago, it didn't mean that she hated him or that she never wanted to see him again. Martina had just been so furious, so hurt and betrayed that he'd brought that _shit_ into her home where her baby brother could find it. She'd been living with his drug addiction for _years_.

They'd been friends since they were in middle school. She'd been the only one to treat him the same after his father died, and he'd been the first person to overlook her 'creepiness' that was only masking a broken heart over the death of her brother and father. They'd bonded over their shared loss. Both of them had lost their family because of hit-and-runs. The friendship that had been born out of that loss and pain was a strong one.

Whenever Martina had felt like she was going over the edge, mentally and physically, Nick was there to coax her down. Whenever Nick felt like he was shattering she'd put the pieces back together. They'd found comfort with one another where they couldn't find it at home.

She'd always suspected that _that_ was the reason why Mrs. Clark did not like her. That and for being the factor that exposed Nick to the wonders of drugs. Because even though Martina herself had never touched the fucking stuff, Nick had _seen_ what Martina's mother would do to forget and numb her pain. It also definitely didn't help that Martina was a high school drop out. Mrs. Clark was one of the guidance counselors at the high school they had attended, and if she remembered correctly the woman was also seriously dating Mr. Manawa the English teacher. Martina suspected that Mick's mother blamed her for a _lot_ of the bad things that Nick decided to after Martina dropped out of school.

After all, her best friend hadn't started shooting up until _after_ Martina had left.

Martina had done her best during the last few years to be Nick's safe-haven. Even if, for the most part, he was no longer hers. She would open up her apartment for him, let him crash on her couch when it was too cold or hot for him to sleep on the streets (because Nick didn't want to get clean, he hadn't reached rock-bottom yet, he wasn't ready). Martina clothed him, fed him, trimmed his freaking hair, tended to him when he was ill or hurt. Nick was her family. The only condition she'd ever given him was that he didn't bring the drugs into the apartment.

She did not want that shit around her little brother. Honestly, Martina didn't even want it around her. But she loved Nick, and wasn't she a fool for loving a drug addict, so she made an exception for him. And Nick, he'd done it. Because he knew, he _knew_ how it made her feel. He knew that she blamed the numbness drugs induced into people for taking the rest of her mother away from them. Maybe, that was the real reason why she'd felt so- so utterly _betrayed_ when she found him one door away from where brother was sleeping shooting up heroin in her bathroom.

It _could_ also - _probably, most likely-_ be because not three hours before she'd found him, Nick had pressed fevered kisses onto her lips. Martina had trusted him so much that she gave herself away to him. He'd made her feel loved. Like she was someone truly _precious_ that needed to be treated with _tender_ hands and _loving_ words.

Martina hadn't cared for any of the faults that most, if not all, people would point out in a young man like Nick. She didn't care that he tried to drown his pain with drugs. She didn't care that he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Or that he lived at home with his overbearing - _Nick's words not her's_ \- when he wasn't homeless. She didn't care that he'd been expelled from Citrus Community college because he couldn't handle the pressure coming not only from school work but from home as well. She didn't care about _any_ of that. Because Martina _loved_ Nick. She loved everything about him. All the things that could be perceived as faults she loved too.

And for a brief moment.

She thought.

That maybe.

Just maybe.

He loved her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1099


	4. Shopping

Lukas, of course, was who brought her out of her funk. He placed his tiny hand onto her own and smiled in an adorable concerned manner, "Marty, are you ok?"

Martina smiled back at her brother, love practically oozing off her as she took in his worried expression and adorable crooked grin, "Yeah, I'm okay squirt."

The boy nodded, "That's good. What about Nicky? I heard you say on the phone that he got hurt."

"Nicky's fine. He was in a little car accident but he's already up and about." Martina withheld a sigh, "His mom just called to let me know."

"Oh." Lukas nodded, "That makes sense. 'Cause he's your best friend like Rudy is my best friend."

Fucking hormones dictated that her eyes glossed over once more with unshed tears, "Yup."

Lukas' big brown eyes locked onto hers, "Are you gonna tell Nicky about the babies? I already told Rudy that I'm gonna be a big brother. He's jealous, 'cause he's the littlest in his family and they call _him_ the _baby_. Rudy wants to be a big brother too."

Right, that was another issue. After throwing Nick out on his ass three months ago she hadn't caught even a _glimpse_ of him. Nick had ghosted her out as he did to his own family when he went on benders. It wasn't that Martina entirely blamed him, she had been firm and even downright _mean_ when she found him.

( _"I-I can't Nicky... Why- Why would you, here, after we ju-st..." a broken sob escaped from her throat, she ignored the pained whine and platitudes escaping from Nick's mouth, "I told you. I told you never to bring this_ shit _here. Get out of_ my _house. Nick, get out!_ ).

But she never thought that Nick would actually decide that he'd rather continue shooting up in needle alley than stay with her. Because even during his worst moments, Nick had _always_ decided to stay with Martina.

She needed to tell him about the baby. Well, babies. Martina hadn't been a virgin when she and Nick slept together, her first boyfriend from high school had already seen to that, but he'd been the only one she'd been _with_ in over a year and a half. Nick was going to be a dad. Martina thought that he should at least know about the existence of his children, even _if_ he decided that he didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

"Marty? I asked if you is gonna tell Nicky about the babies?"

Martina blinked as she corrected absentmindedly, "It's 'you are,' not 'you is' Lukas."

Lukas rolled his eyes, "Well? Are you gonna tell him? I haven't seen Nicky in a while. Are you guys still fighting?"

God, her baby brother hit it right on the nail, "I-I'm gonna tell Nick about the babies."

Her baby brother scrutinized her for a brief moment before deciding to let it go, "Okay. Marty, I finished my homework. Can I go play now?"

Martina quickly went over his math sheet before nodding, "Yeah, go play squirt. We're gonna go to the mall a little early today. I want to buy some baby stuff before we got to the movie theater, okay?"

Lukas nodded before darting to his room, "Kay!"

She snorted when she heard him trip over one of his toys and shoot back an "I'm okay!" before getting up once more. Her brother was just too cute.

Her shift at the theater would start at five today, which meant that if they left the house in half an hour they would have about two hours to go shopping. Babies R' Us was having a sale on baby items, and Martina also had a couple of coupons for Target that was about to expire. It was moments like this when she thanked the heavens that the movie theater she works at was a feature inside of a mall. Her brother was only a little put off when she eventually told him it was time to go, but that was mostly because she made him put on a cable knit sweater since it was still pretty chilly outside. Lukas perked up when she told him that they were taking the car and that he was allowed to bring his Iron Man action figure with him for the trip.

The drive to the mall was fast, it seemed like not many people were parked in the lower level where the Target was today which only filled her with relief as she parked in the spot closest to the entrance. Lukas got excited all over again when they were actually in the store. Martina was going to buy the car seats today since they were on sale and she had coupons. Still, her wallet did cry when she forked over the hundred-twenty bucks for the pair and the additional stroller feature that came with it.

Lukas was convinced that they needed to buy some soft baby blankets for his brothers and a set of pacifiers as well. Martina only sighed good-naturedly and added it to the cart. After they dropped off their purchases in the red Honda CR-V, they took the elevator to the floor with the Babies R' Us.

Here, Martina might have splurged a little bit. A bunch of baby clothes was on sale since new designs were about to be introduced with the changing season. Lukas also wasn't really helping her curb her splurging either. Her brother was getting fully into the spirit of being a big brother and kept bringing her adorable outfits that he wanted the babies to wear. Martina bought a bunch of gender-neutral onesies, jammies, rompers, scratch mittens, socks... and of course, some Avengers themed articles of clothing at her brother's behest.

Martina took the initiative to buy a breast pump that was on sale, some Tomi-Tippe bottles that were compatible with it, and a kangaroo that would hold twins since they were also on sale. She ended up buying some more maternity clothes as well and matching shirts for her to wear with Lukas. Honestly, she had a hard time telling her brother 'no.'

It was only after Martina and Lukas were once more loading all of their new goodies into the trunk of her car when she received a call from her manager at the theater letting her know not to come in. Apparently one of the patrons must have been on some sort of drugs since he'd started attacking people. The L.A.P.D. was already on the scene taking care of everything but her manager had decided that they would simply just close early for the day.

Lukas was only a little bit disappointed that they wouldn't be going to the movie theater today, but at the promise of cookies n' cream ice cream waiting for them at home... well her brother cheered up quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1149
> 
> __________
> 
>   
> Lukas Ruiz


	5. Camping

Martina was relieved when they got home to discover that they were able to miss the riot that broke out in the city. Apparently the police had shot an unarmed homeless in the streets. The number of police shootings had been increasing over the last two weeks, and people were _not_ happy. Hell, Martina was not happy about it either. Life was difficult enough without trigger happy coppers firing at people without a thought. At least Martina was not pulling any shifts tonight at the Walmart, she wasn't really feeling up to leaving her home right now with all the brutality happening outside. Especially since working would mean leaving Lukas with Mrs. Peyton next door.

Something about the situation going on outside was making Martina's hair stand on its end. Something was _not_ right. And she did not want to be separated from her brother if shit hit the fan. For now, though, Martina was going to try put it out of mind as she snuggled with Lukas on the couch and watched Iron Man - _for the millionth time_ \- as they snacked on their cold sweat treats.

Halfway through the movie, Martina received another call. She sighed in annoyance before getting up, promising Lukas that she'd be right back, and picked up the phone after a moment. She hadn't recognized the caller ID, so it probably wasn't one of her bosses or Mrs. Clark again.

"Hello? Who is it?"

The other line was silent.

"Hello?" she tried again.

"M-Marty?"

Shit.

"Marty! It's Nick! Where are you? Are you at home, god please tell me your home! Listen some bad shit is happening right now, you need to get Lukas and-"

Her head was spinning, "What- Nick, Nicky! You need to relax for a minute! What happened?"

Nick groaned, "Are you at home?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Good! You need to pack your bags! Enough supplies to last us a couple of months and then head to my mom's house. Listen to me, Marty! I know- I _know_ that you don't have a reason to trust me- especially after what happened, but _please,_ trust me on this." he whispered brokenly.

Her heart was racing in her chest, "Okay." she agreed, Nick let out a relieved sigh, "But you need to tell me what's happening Nick. Where are we going?"

"The desert." he gasped out, "The police shootings and the virus that's been going around are all connected. Glo-Gloria, you remember her?"

Did she ever. Martina had hated that blonde bimbo since they were in high school, she was one of the bitches that hooked Nick up with drugs in the first place, "Yeah. I remember her."

"She killed two people!"

What! How the hell could Gloria kill anyone! The blonde bimbo was thinner than a rail and more fragile than a goddamn reed! "How-"

"Listen, Marty! Gloria didn't just kill them, sh-she was eating them! I saw it happen again a couple of minutes ago. Ca-Calvin died and then he turned into one of those things. My family, we're getting the hell out of here. Heading for the desert until all of this shit dies down. Marty, you need to come with us! Please! I know- I _know_ that I hurt you, but please! I'll never be able to live with myself if something happened to you and Lukas!"

"Okay, okay..." Martina murmured, "I'm coming, Nicky. I need like forty minutes to pack some bags and get over there. Do you have your meds? I can stop by the pharmacy and pick some up-"

"NO!" Nick shouted before he calmly spoke once more, "No, no I'm fine. Please just hurry and be safe. If you see anyone acting funny, _don't_ go up to them, just _run_ , okay? Promise me!"

"Alright, alright." she placated him, "I promise. I'll see you soon Nicky."

"Good, okay good. Just _hurry_."

"Nick!" she exclaimed before he could hang up, "I-I have something important to tell you when I get there, so- be good til I get there."

Nick snorted, "Aren't I always? _Hurry_!" before hanging up.

"What's wrong Marty?" Lukas asked as he fidgeted nervously. Martina hadn't even noticed that he had stopped watching the movie and moved to her side.

She breathed in deeply as she crouched down to his level, "We're gonna go camping with Nicky for a few days. So I need you to go get your duffle bag and start packing some of your clothes alright?"

Lukas nodded excitedly before darting off, "Okay!"

Good, good. At least someone was excited about this development.

Martina was only grateful that she'd decided not to unload the car from all of her new purchases when she got home, at least now she wouldn't have to load it all back up. She quickly moved into her room and grabbed the duffle bag she had under the bed for camping purposes and zipping it open. She threw in half of her underwear drawer and a plethora of socks, before tossing three pajamas into the bag. Martina decided that the majority of the clothing that she was bringing with her would be those that would stretch as her pregnancy advanced.

All of the maternity clothes that she'd bought so far were quickly folded and dropped into the bag, baggy shirts and leggings soon made their way in there as well. Martina hovered over some of her favorite cotton dresses before deciding that she may as well bring some since they were comfortable and threw in some sweaters/cardigans since it could get cold at night, especially in a desert before zipping the bag closed and throwing it in front of the door.

She made a toiletry bag with shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, and toothpaste (even the extra two tubes of toothpaste), and all of the medications she had in the cabinet. She grabbed the other duffel and quickly folded two towels inside before adding sunblock inside of a ziplock bag to the pile. Martina folded up two thin blankets as well as two heavier blankets and squished them in. Her extensive first aid kit was also added into the mix before she grabbed some of their more normal camping supplies like the two sleeping bags, lanterns, extra batteries, flashlights, compass, spare ziplock bags, flint, and fire starter until nothing else fit in the bag.

Martina then went to help Lukas finish packing his bag. Her little brother had predictably added more toys than clothes into his bag, so she helped him choose four toys he couldn't live without before adding the proper amount of clothing. She packed up a lot of the baggier and bigger clothes that'd been given to them by the Peters family next door in case Lukas went through a growth spurt while they were gone before stuffing his pillow in there. In a plastic bag, she packed Lukas' and her own hiking boots, both of their trainers and flip flops. Now all that was left was packing up a box with all of their canned goods and actually leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1171


	6. Confrontation

Martina wanted to get everything downstairs in one trip. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins after that concerning phone call from Nick. She unfolded her grocery utility cart and threw the two heavier duffels in before balancing the box of canned and dried goods on top of it, she threw Lukas' duffle bag over her shoulder so that she would carry it out. Lukas himself was now sporting his school backpack stuffed with more of his toys, the portable DVD player and Martina's small laptop with its solar-powered charger, her kindle, and a handful of Lukas' favorite movies.

"Lukas." she started seriously, making her six-year-old brother look up at her worriedly.

"Yeah?"

"When we get to the car I want you to go in right away and not come out. I'll put everything in the trunk. Understand?"

Lukas nodded, "Okay, Marty."

Martina took in a fortifying breath before unlocking the door and pushing the cart out into the hallway and instructing her brother in a quiet voice, "Hold onto the cart Lukas."

Mrs. Peyton smiled at them as she passed by towards her apartment, arms full of groceries, "Goin' camping?"

"Yup!" Lukas chirruped.

"Have fun you two!" the old woman called as they entered the elevator.

Lukas pressed the button to get into the sub-basement where the car was parked. Martina didn't really see anything off when they stepped out of the elevator, but something still didn't feel right so she hurried her brother to the car as she watched their surroundings warily. The second Lukas was in the SUV she relaxed somewhat before opening up the trunk and quickly pushing their bagged purchases to one side and stuffing the duffle bag she was carrying inside. She was able to fit the other two duffle bags into the trunk but the box with food was going to have to go in the passengers' seat. Martina quickly shut the trunk and balanced the box on her hip before depositing it in the front seat.

That was when she saw him.

Mr. Peters was three yards away from her, stumbling as he jerkily made his way towards her. Blood was seeping from a nasty wound on his shoulder and there was even more blood dripping from his mouth as he growled inhumanely. Shit. Martina slid over the hood of the car and quickly got behind the wheel before locking the doors. Her bloody neighbor had reached the area she'd once been standing in and was now banging a red hand on Lukas' window.

Her brother let out a distressed cry. "Marty! Marty! What's he doing!"

Martina quickly reversed the car, not caring that she was hitting her grocery cart since she hadn't had a chance to fold it up and move it out the way, and peeled out of the building, "It's gonna be okay, Lukas. Mr. Peters was just playing a mean trick."

Lukas huffed petulantly, "Well I didn't like it! He was all scary!"

"Me neither squirt." Martina murmured as she started heading in the direction of Nick's home, "We're gonna be at Nick's soon, and then we'll be camping! Won't that be fun!" she mock cheered as she tried to get Lukas' attention away from whatever the _hell_ just happened in the parking garage.

The streets in her neighborhood were mostly deserted as the sun disappeared over the horizon, but Martina would occasionally spot a stumbling figure roaming around that didn't fail to make her hair raise and goosebumps to form on her skin. When they finally pulled onto Nick's street, the power seemed to have gone off in the area bathing the street in ominous shadows. She couldn't see anyone walking around, and thankfully there wasn't a single stumbling figure that she could spot. Martina carefully pulled into the driveway and parked in front of Mrs. Calrk's blue car but didn't make any move to actually get out just yet.

"Are we here?" Lukas whispered anxiously as he peered out of his window.

Martina unbuckled her seatbelt and physically turned her whole body to look at him, "Yeah squirt we're here. I'm just gonna call Nicky on the phone first so that they can let us in." she reached out for her saddlebag on the floor of the passenger seat and searched for her phone, the second that Martina grabbed the small flip phone she called back the number Nick had called her from earlier. The line beeped that it was busy for a few moments before she heard it start ringing, Martina gnawed on her bottom lip nervously.

"Hello!? Marty?" Nick's voice croaked.

A relieved sigh escaped from her lips, "Hey, we're here. I parked in the driveway."

She could hear him rustling through the speaker, "Yeah, I see you, okay I-I'm gonna be by the door. Grab Lukas and run okay. I'll be here." he instructed before hanging up.

Martina turned around to look at Lukas again as she threw the strap of her shoulder bag over her head, "Alright squirt, can you unbuckle your seat belt and hop to the front." her brother nodded as he unbuckled his seat grabbed his backpack and slipped it on before crawling into her arms. "Good boy." she murmured before pressing a loving kiss onto his forehead, "Okay, Lukas you need to be quiet and hold onto me until we get inside okay."

"Kay, Marty." he whispered before pressing his face into her collarbone. Martina sighed, grabbed the car keys and took another look around the barren neighborhood. Nobody was outside. Fortifying herself she opened the car door and stepped out before shutting it behind her and quickly jogged to the house, Nick was leaning against the open door as she ran in before he shut it behind her and locked it.

"You made it." Nick whispered as they stared at one another.

"Yeah." Martina murmured back, Lukas finally lifted his face from her collarbone and smiled shyly at Nick.

"Hey Nicky. I missed you."

Nick snorted a small smile stretching across his face, "I missed you too little man."

"Why did I hear the door opening and closing?" Mrs. Clark's voice traveled from another room before the woman herself made her way to where they hovering at the front door. "Oh, I didn't know that Nick had called you... Well, come in."

Martina shot an awkward look at her best friend before smiling sheepishly at the blonde woman as she walked into the modest living room, "Sorry about the intrusion, I didn't know that Nick hadn't gotten permission."

The woman waved her hand, "It isn't the first time Nick's done something without asking first. Who's this little guy?" Mrs. Clark's cold blue eyes warmed slightly as she observed Martina's little brother.

"Oh, this is my little brother Lukas." Martina introduced as Nick walked passed her and plopped down on the made-up couch, it looked like Nick was detoxing pretty hard from the state and smell wafting from the plastic bucket on the floor, "Lukas this is Nicky's mom, Mrs. Clark."

"Hi." Lukas waved shyly.

A set of footsteps made Martina look up just in time to witness Alicia's, Nick's younger sister by two years, face crinkle up in disdain when she caught sight of Martina standing in her living room, "What is _she_ doing here?"

"Martina was invited here." Nick retorted strongly. Martina just felt awkward as tensions seemed to rise in the room, the Clark siblings were glaring at each other darkly while their mother tried to play peacekeeper.

"Why does he get to invite over his _friend_ ," Alicia hissed out, "But it was too dangerous for me to stay with Matt. He's _sick_ mom! We shouldn't have left him all alone."

"Yeah because Marty isn't sick." Nick shot back as he stood up and moved in front of her as if he was shielding Martina from his sister's bitterness, "Matt is _dangerous_. Marty's _not_."

"Hey! Everyone relax-"

Alicia interrupted their mother without pause, "Oh, Matt's dangerous? But your _supplier_ isn't! Maybe she's sick too!"

"Marty's _not_ a supplier Alicia!" Nick shouted infuriated, "She's never had _anything_ to do with the shit I do!"

Lukas whimpered as he buried his face under Martina's chin before whispering into her exposed skin just loud enough for everyone to listen, "Why're they fighting? Make 'em stop."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1387


	7. Fear & Forgiveness

Lukas' plead seemed to dissipate the remaining hostility like water on fire. In Alicia's defense, the younger teenager seemed rather ashamed to have gone off on her brother in front of a scared little kid. The youngest Clark probably hadn't even noticed Martina's little brother was in her arms until he spoke up. Alicia ended up stomping into her room with Mrs. Clark hot on her heels. Nick simply plopped down on the couch and shut his eyes tiredly. Lukas was starting to get really heavy in her arms but she also didn't really feel comfortable letting him roam around the Clarks household, especially after finding out that Nick hadn't even let his family know that they would be joining them.

"Sit with me..." Nick spoke in a soft manner as he patted to spot beside him. Martina sighed but did as he said, sinking into the soft cushions. Lukas shifted on her lap so that he was looking at Nick but continued cuddling against her. He must have been really scared of Mr. Peters.

"How have you been?" Nick's dark brown eyes were piercing as he quietly observed her.

She couldn't help but wonder what he saw. Did he see the bags forming under her eyes or how tired she was? Had he noticed the belly that was forming under her sweater despite her arms and legs being more toned than ever? Did he hate her new haircut? It was a big change from the long dark locks that had once reached the small of her back, now it was even shorter than the neck-length mane of hair that Nick was sporting. Had he missed her? Did he hate her for throwing him out? Was it only the years of loyalty that made him call Martina and warn her of the shit show that was happening outside.

"I've been better." she admitted, "We saw one of our neighbors in the parking garage. He had a bunch of blood on his person."

Nick stiffened as he stared at her intensely, "What happened, did he hurt you?"

"No. I got in the car before he got too close. But he was banging on the windows before I peeled outta there. Scared us, right Lukas?" Martina asked her baby brother in a soft voice. Nick relaxed.

Lukas nodded, "Yeah. I didn' like it."

"I can only imagine squirt," Nick placated, "You've been pretty brave today."

"Yeah," Lukas agreed, "I gotta be. 'Cause I need to protect the babies."

_Great_.

Nick's eyebrow rose, "Babies? What babies squirt?"

Lukas lifted his head up to stare at her, "Marty's babies."

"What baby, Marty?" Nick repeated almost nervously.

Martina sighed, "Lukas why don't you take your backpack off and get your Avengers out. You can play for a little while and then it's time to go to sleep."

"Kay." Lukas chirruped as he slid off her lap and sat on the floor and started rummaging through his backpack.

With her brother now fully entertained, Martina turned back to look at Nick seriously. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

"What!?" Nick whisper shouted, his eyes bugging out in an almost comical manner.

"Yup." she continued almost callously as she fished around for the ultrasound pictures that'd been taken that afternoon, "Ten weeks now. Here." Martina handed him the picture. Nick's gaze didn't budge away from the small black and white image in his hand, she had a feeling that the reason why his hands were trembling wasn't only because he had withdrawal shakes. "That's baby A," she pointed at one of the grey blobs, "And that's baby B. I'm due late August."

Nick's head snapped up to look at her, "T-Ten weeks? That's wh-what? Three months?"

Martina nodded, "Three months."

"So, that means- that me- _we_ \- I, they're mine?" he whispered.

Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, Martina looked down at her clenched fists, "Yes."

"I- oh _wow_. I gotta sit down- _shit_ I'm already sitting. You see the room spinning?" Nick gasped out looking three times paler.

"I'm sorry Nick. I thought you had a right to know, even if you decide you don't to be involved." she murmured locking her eyes on Lukas' form. "I know this- it's pretty shocking. If you want, Lukas and I can leave. That way we won't be a burden-"

"Hey," Nick gently grabbed her face, their eyes connecting, "No, no, Marty you're not a burden. I- yeah this pretty fucking shocking, an-and it honestly could have happened at a better moment. But it's not your fault right, we- we were _both_ there that night. I should have covered up even if you were on birth control. Shit, and what happened _afterwards_. God, I'm so sorry, Marty. I'm so so sorry. I-I just, I'm just so fuckin' weak. I'd get it if you wouldn't want _me_ to be around you or Lukas, o-or the, _our_ babies."

"Idiot." she chastised him, "I forgave you. I was just hurt, Nicky. Why would you do _that_ , so soon after we- and in my house where _Lukas_ was in the other room. What were you thinking?"

The older teen leaned his forehead against hers, "That I don't deserve you."

"What-"

"That I never have." Nick continued, "You've been the best thing in my life for-for years, Marty. You're the only one who's never been disappointed or disgusted with me. You've never given up on me, you've put up with my shit time after time. And then- when we, I just don't think anyone's ever loved me the way you do. And I just- got scared. Scared that I would never be enough for you. Pathetic drugged up asshole who was stupid enough to get expelled from a community college."

Martina cupped his face, pushing him away so that their eyes locked on, "Dummy, of course, you're enough for me. I don't care about all of that over stuff. Hell, Nick, it's not like I'm some great catch. I'm a high school drop out, with a kid," she snorted, "And hell, two more on the way. I get it, being scared that you're not good enough, but maybe instead of trying to numb or forget about your fears, just come talk to me, Nicky. I promise that I'll never look at you like you're different. You'll always just be- Nicky to me, a gangly and loveable weirdo that I can't imagine life without."

Nick let out a wet laugh, "Yeah, yeah. Okay, I'm still sorry though."

"I forgive you," she whispered before pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

Lukas had finally fallen asleep in Nick's old room when Martina heard feminine screams coming from outside. She quietly moved out of the bedroom and shut the door behind her before running into the living room. "What's going on?" she blurted out as Mrs. Clark tried to pull Alicia away from the window.

"Mr. Dawson is hurting them!" Alicia shouted before running to the front door and wrenching it open but Mrs. Clarke was just as fast as she pulled Alicia away and slammed it closed before leaning against the door like a barrier.

"What are you doing?" Alicia questioned as the scream grew even louder in pitch, "Mom. Mom!"

Nick sat up from where he'd been resting on the couch and stated solemnly, "It's safer inside, where he- it can't get in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1292


	8. Deja vu

An hour had passed since the screaming from across the street had stopped. Lukas had thankfully slept through the entire ordeal, but the rest of them were now wide awake and tense as they waited for the rest of the Clarks extended family to arrive. Mr. Manawa had left earlier in the afternoon to get his son and ex-wife but had gotten caught out in the city by the riots. Now he was apparently holed up in a shop with the rest of his family and some strangers until things got a bit better. The plan is to immediately head out into the desert the moment that Mr. Manawa got back. Mrs. Clark had taken to pacing around the house, busying herself in an attempt to take her mind off her estranged boyfriend.

Martina was currently curled up on the couch, Nick's head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his tangled mane, reading one of the baby books she'd purchased on her kindle. She had decided to take the initiative and download as many books as she could onto the device after witnessing that horrible attack on the family across the street. Martina had a feeling that their lives would _never_ go back to normal, so what was the point of letting all of her hard-earned money go to waste in the bank. At least this way, she had thousands of helpful books downloaded on her kindle that could help them later on. She must have stopped petting Nick's hair since he complained and started moving her hand through his hair again. Martina giggled tiredly but she restarted her ministrations once more.

Behind them, Alicia was peering through the window once more. Probably staring desolately at the house across the street in hope that she could catch a glimpse of Mr. Dawson or the woman he'd been attacking.

"What was that sound?" Alicia asked suddenly, breaking the somewhat peaceful silence that had developed.

"I don't know but it's gone." Mrs. Clark stated decisively as she approached them on the couch. Nick sat up and took the pills she offered him and the cup.

"What did Mr. Dawson do to the Cruzes?" Alicia questioned her mother.

"He's gone." the blonde woman stated bluntly in a dismissive manner. Nick sighed softly before placing the pills on the coffee table before crushing them with his crystal cup.

"Yeah, but what the hell did he do?" Alicia insisted. Martina stayed silent and watched Mrs. Calrk with interest, she can't imagine that the man, Mr. Dawson had done anything _good_ to the Cruz family _-Mr. Peters bloodied visage flashed through her mind-_ but she wondered what the woman would say in response.

Mrs. Clark sighed, "I don't know. We're safe inside, okay?" of course that was when the eldest Clark realized what her son was doing, "Oh, come on, Nick. Please, just swallow them."

Nick shook his head, "No, it takes too long to absorb. I'm not there yet."

"The idea is to wean you off of the pills, not to get-"

"Um, who's the expert?" Nick interrupted exasperated making his mother roll her eyes in mild disgust and turn away from him, "Hey mom, how many more pills do I got?"

"We have enough to get you east. Don't worry." Mrs. Clark stated tiredly as she walked away.

"And then?" Nick questioned as he looked down at the crushed pills in worry. Detoxing was not a pleasant experience for her best friend, Martina knew from experience _-holding Nick and trying, just trying to ease him a little bit-_ how much pain he was in as the drugs left his system.

"And then you howl at the moon." the woman stated bluntly, Martina could see the muscles Nick's back tense at the hurtful words, "Look, Travis will be here. We'll go."

"You sure?" he retorted. Martina shut her eyes, this was getting more and more awkward for her.

"Nick." Mrs. Clark chastised him before stating sternly, "He's coming."

" _Okay_..." Nick taunted softly at his mother's turned back. When Martina saw Alicia pull put her earbuds and place them in her ear she gently rubbed Nick's shoulder blades, making him look back at her.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

Nick's gaze softened from the somewhat cruel disinterest he'd displayed to his mother, "Yeah." he smiled softly. Martina nodded as she bit down a yawn from escaping her mouth, making Nick look at her in concern. "Tired?"

"Yeah, I got maybe three hours of sleep last night." she confessed as she watched him snort up the crushed pills. Nick turned to look at her incredulously.

"Three hours? What- Why the hell did you only sleep for three hours? That can't be good for-" he whispered, "For the little peanuts."

Martina smiled at him tiredly, "I was working nights at Walmart stocking shelves. They were paying really good money, and well, _peanuts_ are expensive." she whispered, "I actually bought a lot of stuff today. It was pretty lucky that I was too tired to unload everything from the car, so I at least have some baby things for when the twins arrive."

Nick nodded as he pulled in for a hug, "God, _twins_. Two peanuts. Shit, we're gonna have our hands full."

She snorted, "Hell yeah, plus a _really_ excited six-year-old that can't wait, in his words, to become a big brother."

Nick let out a low chuckle, "Aww, the squirt's so cute. Have I mentioned that I like your haircut yet, its adorable."

"Yup. I'm just glad it's out of my face now." she agreed before pulling away, "I think I'm gonna go lay down with Lukas for a while. Maybe I'll be able to fall asleep."

The older teen nodded, "Okay. I'll be here if you need me."

Only an hour or two must have passed when Martina woke up to the sounds of panicked raised voices, a sense of deja vu washed over her as she stumbled into the living room and whispered, "What happened?"

"Do you hear that?" Nick asked. Martina breathed in calmly as she tried to pick up any sound out of the ordinary, _that_ was when she heard the strange scratching sound that had gotten the Clarks all up and scared. The scratching sound started up again, it reminded Martina of Bucky. When she'd been a child and their family dog Bucky wanted to go out or come back in he would scratch at the door to let them know.

"Do you guys have a dog?" she whispered back, Nick's head tilted in consideration, "It sounds like a dog is scratching at the door."

"What if it's Mr. Dawson?" Alicia countered in fear. Nick slowly approached the back door covered up by blue and white curtains.

"Nick!" Mrs. Clark hissed as she realized what her son was about to do.

"Shh!" he hushed them as he got closer to the door to listen. Something scratched the back door furiously once more making it rattle, Nick grasped the curtains and pulled them open despite his mother and sister's pleading not to, revealing a german shepherd getting ready to scratch the door once more, "It's just the dog, it's just the dog." he repeated before gently sliding the glass door open, "Hey, hey. Hey, it's okay." he coaxed the scared animal inside, "It's okay, it's okay." he murmured as the dog whined pathetically, "Hey, hey, hey." Nick cooed as he gave the animal comforting pats.

A sigh of relief escaped from Martina's throat.

.

.

.

At least until she caught sight of the blood matting on the dog's paws and on his right side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1316


	9. Not Sick, Dead

"What is that?" Mrs. Clark hissed pointing out the blood Martina had spotted on the dog's fur.

"Is- Is he hurt?" Alicia stammered.

The dog's panting filled the room as Nick lifted his bloody hand away before admitting, "I don't think that's his blood."

As if on cue the dog sprinted through the house and to the front door as he barked viciously. Nick quickly shot up from where he'd been crouching and limped after him to peer through the window, Alicia and Mrs. Clark were fast on his heels while Martina eyed the still open glass door with mistrust.

"Shit, he's coming this way." Nick stated before informing them as he headed for the back door, "Okay, the Trans have a gun. Shotgun. I tried to steal it once." He ignored his mother's disappointed look with an expertise that revealed _years_ of disregarding his mother's opinions on his life choices.

"Alicia, stay close." Mrs. Clark demanded as she followed her son, "Don't stop."

"Come on," Alicia addressed her.

Martina shook her head, "No, Lukas is sleeping. I'll wait here. Shut the glass door just in case. I'm gonna get the dog to stop barking before he wakes up my brother."

The younger teen nodded as she shut the door behind her and started climbing over the fence with the rest of her family. Having the glass door shut helped alleviate some of her fears as she sprinted to where the dog was still barking furiously at the other door.

"Hey!" Martina scolded the animal firmly, "Shh. Shh." the dog let out a whimpering protest but didn't really put up a fuss when she started dragging him into Nick's bedroom. She locked the bedroom door behind her before sitting down against the wooden door. The dog, whose name he still did not know whined as he paced the room before laying down beside her and nudging her hands. Martina began to gently comb her fingers through his short fur as she whispered sweet nothings to keep him nice and calm.

"Marty?" Lukas whispered breaking the silence and surprising her, "Are you okay? Who's that?"

Martina shushed him as she heard something start banging against the glass door in the living room. Shit. The dog let out a low growl that she was quick to hush as she started rubbing his fur pleadingly. "We have to be quiet right now Lukas. Okay?" she whispered shakily.

"Is there a bad man outside?" her brother whimpered making the dog stand up from her side to go inspect the smaller more distressed human. Lukas offered his hand to the dog, earning sloppy licks before the animal decided to jump up and join him on the bed.

"Careful Lukas, only touch the doggies head, he got dirty and I still need to clean him." she instructed before pressing her ear to the door. The banging started up again even more insistently. Fuck. "Okay, okay, we need to be really quiet, got it, squirt."

"Okay Marty." he whimpered. Martina closed her eyes in fear as she pressed her ear even harder against the door when two of the most concerning sounds reached her ears. A car had pulled into the driveway and whatever the hell was banging on the door had managed to slide it open and stumble into the house. The german shepherd let out another low growl, that Martina managed to hush as she heard a male voice call out into the house.

Shit. SHIT. Martina couldn't even warn him without bringing attention to her and Lukas's position inside of Nick's room. She heard the creature's answering growl and it's clumsy gait as more voices murmured in the dark.

"Hello? Shit, get out of here. Get Chris to the car." the familiar tenure of Mr. Manawa spoke almost calmly as he called out, "Peter? Hey, you're sick. Peter. Come on, Peter, its Travis."

A scared and unfamiliar teenager hissed desperately, "Dad. Dad, what are you doing?"

"Get out of here!" Mr. Manawa demanded once more, ignoring the calls from his son. A woman screamed as whatever Mr. Dawson turned into probably lunged at the English teacher.

A chorus of "Dad!" and "Travis!" filled the air as well as falling objects. A small cry made Martina's head snap back to look at her now silently sobbing brother.

"Come Lukas," she whispered while opening her arms. Her little brother practically flew into her arms as he muffled his cries into Martina's shirt. The dog, whose name she _still_ did not know joined them on the floor as the scuffle in the other room continued.

"Travis, no!" the voice of the unfamiliar woman shouted.

"Dad! Dad!" The teenager screamed. The inhumane growls intensified, "Dad!"

A body hit the wall, "Peter stop!" Mr. Manawa demanded.

"Travis!" the familiar voice of Mrs. Clark exclaimed.

"No, put the gun down!" Mr. Manawa commanded.

What? _WHY_? Martina could barely hear another set of footsteps going through the house before a gunshot rang in the air earning a surprised scream from the unknown woman and making Martina flinch. The dog growled at the door but pressed his body heavily against her sobbing brother. A couple of seconds passed before a second shot was fired.

"Marty!" Nick called out.

She took a deep breath in before shakily calling out, "I-In here!"

"Wait someone else is in here?" Mr. Manawa questioned before Alicia let out a terrified scream. Fuck. Martina put Lukas down on the floor.

"Lukas stay here. Do _not_ open the door until I come back." Martina commanded as she got up and ran out of the room before he could protest or the dog could follow her.

Martina gagged at the corpse in the living room but tried not to pay it any more attention as she followed the others to the backyard. The unknown teenager was trying to pull Alicia over to their side of the fence while another one of those things was trying it's damnest to pull the youngest Clark onto its own side. By the time they made it over to help, Mr. Manawa's son had successfully pulled Alicia into their backyard.

"Will you get- get off me!" Alicia was still shouting in panic as she elbowed the other teen in the face - _making the boy hiss in pain_ \- and scampered off the ground into her mother's arms.

Mr. Manawa and a woman she didn't recognize rushed towards the writhing teen still on the floor. "Chris, God, what happened?" the woman questioned as she helped him up.

The boy, Chris, snapped angrily as he glared the girl who'ed bloodied up his nose, "I was trying to save you, Alicia!"

"Just calm down." Mr. Manawa tried to placate him.

"Dad _you_ calm down!" he retorted angrily as he pushed his father away earning a sharp "Chris!" from the woman Martina was assuming was his mother.

"Marty!" Nick gasped out as he pulled her into a relieved hug, "Fuck, I was so worried when Alicia said that it got into the house. Are you okay? Lukas?"

Martina nodded nervously, "I dragged the dog into your room and locked us in the second you guys went over the fence."

"What's wrong with Su-Su?" Alicia quietly asked making everyone turn back to the thing that had been trying so hard to pull Alicia over to its side.

"Susan? Oh, my God. Susan." Mrs. Clark murmured as she got closer to the growling woman.

"She's sick." Chris's mom piped up.

"Was she bitten?" Mr. Manawa asked.

The woman whispered back in the same terrified and sad tone, "I can't tell." 

Nick's arms tightened around her before he let go and stated bluntly, "She's not sick. She's dead."

The woman that was once Susan growled as if in agreement with this morbid thought. 

"I-I'm gonna go check on Lukas." Martina murmured, "He was crying when I left the room." before turning around and practically sprinting into her best friend's childhood bedroom as Alicia broke down behind her, screaming about her boyfriend Matt not being like _that._ Martina rubbed the tears from her eyes before Lukas could see them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1394


	10. In the Morning

"Marty!" Lukas cried in relief as he let her into the bedroom.

Martina scooped him up into her arms and shut the door behind her before the dog could escape, "Hey squirt, it's alright. I'm here. I'm here. Shh, no more tears."

"I was so scared!" Lukas crowed as he buried his face into her collarbone. The dog whined at her brother's distress as he crowded around them, almost tripping Martina before she could sit on the bed.

"I'm sorry squirt, it's okay. I'm here now." she murmured, pressing fervent kisses on his forehead and wet cheeks. Footsteps approached them before Nick gently opened the door and shot her a tired smile. Nick sat down beside her, patting the dog's head absentmindedly.

"Hey buddy," Nick coaxed her brother gently, his eyes never leaving the crying boy, "It's okay. You know I'd never let anything happen to you _or_ your sister."

Lukas sniffled as he pulled away to look at the older teen, "Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise squirt." her brother nodded before putting his arms up. Nick was quick to pull Lukas out of her arms and give him his own hug as another slew of tears escaped from Lukas. Martina smiled at the sight.

Nick was the only male figure her baby brother had ever had... Nick was practically his very own superhero. She'd often wondered in the privacy of her own mind if Nick saw Lukas as a _do-over_ sibling, Alicia had been disgusted after she discovered that her brother was doing drugs and had become even more bitter and distrusting of Nick over time. Despite Nick's claims that it didn't bother him, Martina suspected that it did, of course, it did, his _own_ sister had written him off. But Lukas, tiny naive Lukas, never looked at him like he was disappointing. Her brother only ever displayed unconditional love in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Travis brought people with him," Nick stated softly as if he was afraid to set Lukas off into another crying fit now that he'd finally stopped. "My mom wants to leave _now_ , I think we should get in there before they start making decisions without us."

Martina nodded, "Alright, here I can take him." she motioned to her brother as she got up.

"Nah, I got him," Nick grunted softly as he stood up with Lukas in his arms. Her little brother was wide awake as he clutched on her best friend's shirt. Martina nodded, letting out a weary sigh as she opened the door for Nick and followed him out with the dog on their heels.

"How's she doing?" Mr. Manawa's voice reached her ears.

The man's ex-wife was wrapping a bandage over an older woman's leg as she let out low moans of pain. "You got anything I could give her for the pain?"

"Nothing stronger than aspirin." the man tiredly rubbed his eyes.

The dog bounded over right for the now downed corpse of Mr. Dawson and growled at it before running back to Martina's side.

"Who're you?" Chris asked softly as he stared her down from where he was perched on one of the armchairs.

"Martina. Martina Ruiz" she whispered taking in the strangers now camped out in the Clarkes' living room, Mr. Manawa was quietly informing the older man where the telephone was now that the power had come back on, "Nick's holding my brother Lukas."

"I did." the older man spoke, his accent belaying his Spanish-speaking heritage, "My cousin is coming to pick us up in the morning."

"Yeah, but _who_ are you?" Chris repeated once more, making Nick glare at the younger teen from the corner of his eyes.

"My friend." he defended her.

Travis ignored them all in favor of addressing the pretty young woman holding the injured woman's hand, "Uh, we'll set up your mom in one of the bedrooms upstairs, okay?"

"Thank you," she responded softly.

This was when Mrs. Clark, who had been sitting quietly against the wall observing all of the strangers invading her home as she held a tearful Alicia in a comforting half-hug spoke up in confusion, "Aren't we leaving?"

"Yeah, yeah, we will. In the morning." Mr. Manawa assured her.

Mrs. Clark insisted, "No Travis, we have to go. We're packed, we're ready. We were just waiting for you."

"Can we talk about this in the kitchen?" the blonde's boyfriend requested tiredly.

"No." Mrs. Clark stood up from her spot and walked up to her boyfriend, "This thing's getting worse, not better. It's not safe."

"Madison, I think Travis is-"

"No, it's not your place-" Mrs. Clark snapped at the ex-wife.

Alicia stood up now as she nervously stammered out, "I don't wanna stay. I don't- I wanna go."

"Look-" Mr. Manawa tried to reassure her but Alicia wasn't having it. Not that Martina blamed her.

"I wanna go. I don't wanna stay here."

"Hold on. H-Hold on." Mr. Manawa murmured as he tried to explain, "It is _dark_. We don't even know if the freeway is passable."

"You expect us to wait here?" Mrs. Clark snapped.

The man sighed, "We'd be blind out there. It's dangerous."

"And this isn't?" the blonde hissed.

"Inside, doors locked. We ride it out for the night, okay?" the English teacher stated in a soft manner as he tried to calm down his scared girlfriend and her daughter, "We'll take care of each other. Trust me, Maddy. We'll leave in the morning."

Mrs. Clark turned to look at the body still lying by the sliding door, "If we're staying here, you have to take care of Peter." she stated before walking away.

"Are we still goin' camping?" Lukas asked with his face pressed into Nick's collarbone.

Nick locked gazes with her over Lukas' dirty blonde hair, "Yeah, squirt. We'll just leave in the morning. Bright and early."

"Yup," Martina agreed, ignoring the looks she was getting from the others in the room, "That means you need to go back to sleep now."

Lukas whined, "Can you sleep with me?"

"Of course," Martina whispered as she jerked her head towards Nick's bedroom, the older teen quickly caught her drift and began leading them back to his room for the night. The german shepherd hovered in the living room for a moment before darting towards them and following them into the bedroom. She really needed to learn the animal's name. Martina was tired of calling it ' _the dog_ ' in her head.

Martina curled up on Nick's bed, hugging her brother to her chest as she rubbed his back and whispered a lullaby in his ear until they both fell asleep. The dog laid diligently by the door as if to protect them from any possible harm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1173


	11. Chapter Eleven: Camouflage Uniforms

Morning came too quickly. The Clark household was rife with life as the residents moved around in preparation for the rest of the day. Martina had woken up to the dulcet sounds of the german shepherd's whining to go out, she'd only let out a low groan before accompanying the dog out to the backyard and watching him do his business. One eye on him and the other on the newly dug grave in the yard. Naturally, that was when the walking corpse - _if what Nick said was true_ \- stuck on the other side of the fence decided to make an appearance. It snarled as it stuck its hand through a broken part of the fence uselessly reaching for them. The dog growled menacingly and barked but didn't get any closer, thankfully he stopped when she shushed him and told him to get back inside.

That was when she decided to at least rinse off the blood now matting on his fur. Alicia was kind enough to show her where the hose was in the garage. Of course, that was when Lukas woke up and decided that he wanted to help bathe the doggy too. Martina only sighed but let her little brother join her as she gently rubbed out the hardened blood, _paint_ she'd told him when he got concerned. Besides, his adorable giggles as the dog shook his wet fur sprinkling his face with water were heartwarming... she caught more than a few soft indulgent grins shot in their direction by the time they were done and had rejoined the chaos inside.

"What's the doggy's name, Marty?" Lukas asked her as they walked into the kitchen where everyone was grabbing a quick breakfast before they'd set out.

"Pingu." Mrs. Clark piped up as she handed Lukas a grilled cheese sandwich, "The dog's name is Pingu. I'm not sure where they came up with that name, but..." the blonde shrugged in a ' _what can I say manner._ '

"Like the penguin!" Lukas chirped excitedly, "I like it!

"A penguin?" Chris questioned, a bemused expression on his face.

Lukas nodded before looking at her, "Yeah! Pingu! Right, Marty?"

"That's right." Martina agreed, "Just like in the show. It's a British tv show about a family of penguins," she explained to the others as she sat down and smiled in thanks when Mrs. Clark offered her a sandwich as well, "The main character's name is Pingu."

"Yeah!" Lukas enthused, "And his baby sister's name is Pinga! They're really cute! But not as cute as you Pingu!" the six-year-old promised the german shepherd licking his fingers as delighted giggles peeled out of his mouth. "Marty, can Pingu come camping with us? Please!"

Martina sighed, rubbing her forehead, "Alright, but he's gonna sit next to you in the car."

"Yay!" Lukas cheered gleefully as he scarfed down the rest of breakfast before sliding out of his chair to play the equally excited dog. At least he would have some sort of company while they hid out in the desert. Martina was starting to really feel like their lives would _never_ go back to normal, especially after what happened last night.

Sighing tiredly, Martina turned back to the matriarch of the Clark family, "Is there anything I can do to help you? Any more things that need to be packed up before we can leave."

The blonde eyed her cautiously before gesturing to the closet behind Martina, "We were in a rush yesterday, but there should be some more canned goods in the pantry if you don't mind helping me carry them to the cars."

"It's no problem," Martina smiled as she stood and opened the pantry and began grabbing some of the items they'd missed, "You want me to load it up in the blue car?"

"Please." the blonde woman nodded as she brought coffee over to Mr. Salazar, as Martina had come to learn what his name was. Martina had made two more trips in and out of the house before deciding to prep a small lunch for the road; a simple ham and cheese sandwich for her, a grilled-cheese for Lukas, and some ham in a ziplock bag for Pingu. Everyone else now was getting the last of their things into the cars. Martina forced Lukas to use the bathroom one last time before double-checking that they both had their bags and lead the boy-dog duo to her red SUV. Pingu didn't even hesitate before jumping into the back seat when Martina opened the door. Lukas gleefully buckled his seatbelt by himself _-that was a very important accomplishment in her baby brother's eyes-_ before cuddling up to Pingu.

Nick exchanged a meaningful glance with her before heading into his mom's car. He'd pulled her aside this morning shortly after they'd both gotten up to tell her that Mrs. Clark _really_ wanted _both_ of her children within her line of sight at all times, at the very least for now. He'd been more than a little annoyed but he'd calmed down when Martina pulled him into a hug and mumbled that she felt the same about Lukas. It'd only taken a moment for Nick to relax and return the embrace before murmuring that he'd cut his mom _some_ slack... but it didn't mean that he was thrilled about being trapped in a long ass car ride with his overbearing mother and bitter sister- his words, not her own.

( _"I haven't seen you in months, and look at all the stuff I missed out on because I fucked up." Nick whispered as he'd pulled away from the hug and placed a tentative palm on Martina's protruding tummy, the only reason she'd been able to conceal it so far was because of the baggy hoody she was wearing, "I know you said that mom's just feeling paranoid and wants to have both of her babies in her sight... but I wanna do the same..."_ ).

Her best friend, and well, baby daddy and maybe something _more_ , still wasn't done detoxing either and didn't want Lukas to see him like that if he could avoid it, so he didn't complain and simply made himself comfortable in his mom's car.

Finally, Mr. Manawa, accompanied by Chris and his ex-wife Liza, who was driving the beat-up looking white truck pulled out of the Clarks driveway. She was quick to do the same, especially since she was blocking Mrs. Clark's blue car. Martina kept her eyes on the truck's bumper in front of her as she began to follow Mr. Manawa out of the neighborhood. Not three minutes into the drive she noticed Mrs. Clark stop her car abruptly before pulling sharply to the left through the rearview mirror, even though Mr. Manawa was going right. Martina only hesitated for a moment before back-peddling and following after the blue car.

Mrs. Clark parked badly behind another car before bolting out of her vehicle, with Alicia not too far behind her mother, shouting for a man named Patrick. Martina rolled her windows down just in time to see Nick jump out of the car as well.

"Nick! Wait! What's wrong?" she shouted as Mr. Manawa parked behind her and ran out of the truck after his girlfriend.

Nick's head snapped back to look at her, "Susan's husband! Wait here!" before running after his mother and sister with Liza and Chris hot on his heels. Shit.

Not three seconds later Martina spotted men in the camouflage uniforms unique to the American military combing through the street with their guns poised in the air and ready to shoot. _Fuck_. Not only that but they were heading towards the back yard of the Clarks' neighbors where the rest of the group had disappeared to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1341  
> ~-~-~-~-~-~  
> I hope this chapter wasn't too boring... LOL.  
> I totally and completely made up the dog's name. (Trust me I looked for it). The name Pingu does come from a British kids tv show about penguins... for some reason, a lot of the Hispanic families I've met recognize the tv show [because their kids have watched it] so that's why I decided to call the Cruz' dog Pingu.


	12. Census

The gunshot that followed after the soldiers disappeared into the backyard did _not_ help alleviate Martina's fears. Especially not when Lukas was already crying in the back while Pingu barked and growled furiously. It probably also didn't help when four gun clad men surrounded her own vehicle and began examining her.

"Have you been infected!" one of the men growled at her, at least that was what she thought he said since it was difficult to understand what he was saying with that massive mask covering the majority of his face.

"W-What?" she stammered hands clenching the steering wheel.

"Have you been BIT!" another man repeated in an equally frustrated tone. Martina could spot some other military personal dragging her wayward group out of the Trans' backyard. At least, from what she could tell, no one _she_ knew had been hurt.

"No."

"What about the boy? Dog?" the first man that had barked at her incoherently asked.

Martina shook her head, "No."

"Then head back to your home!" the man commanded.

With wide fearful eyes, she turned around to assess her crying brother before shooting him a small grin, "Hey, hey squirt. It's okay! No more tears. No one's hurt."

The six-year-old sniffled as he wiped away tears and snot from his face with the sleeve of his sweater, "Where's Nicky?"

"We'll see him in a second squirt," Martina reassured him before going back to inspect the shocked faces of the Clarks and Manawas. Almost immediately Nick caught her gaze and sprinted over to her window.

"Are you two okay?" he blurted out in worry before a relieved sigh escaped from his lips when Martina nodded.

"A-Are you?" she countered shakily, her eyes roaming up and down his frame for injuries, "We heard a gunshot."

Nick ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous manner as the rest of his family started heading back to the cars, "They shot Susan. Look, they're telling us to head back to the house."

"Okay." Martina whispered as she warily watched all the military personal scanning the street. Nick eyed her for a moment before going around to the passenger's side and opening the door. He quickly moved the heavy box with canned foods into the back seat by a restless Pingu, before sitting down and making himself comfortable.

"Come on. The others have already started driving," he instructed softly.

A shaky breath escaped from Martina's throat before she could stop it. "Okay," she mumbled before shifting the car into drive and following Mrs. Clark's car back down the street. Once she had parked into the driveway, before she could unlock the car and walk out, Nick grabbed her hand in a comforting manner.

"Hey," he whispered, "Everythings gonna be okay."

She smiled at him nervously, squeezing his hand before turning to look at her still sniffling brother, "Do you want to watch Iron Man with me, Lukas?"

Her brother sniffled before shooting her a tiny smile, "Nah. I wanna see it with Nicky instead."

Nick burst out into laughter, "Of course you do little man." he crowed as he exited the car and opened Lukas' door, "I'm awesome."

Martina rolled her eyes but allowed a small content smile to grace her face as she let Pingu out and followed her two favorite boys into the house. After making sure that Lukas was settled in, with Nick acting as his emotional security blanket, Martina peeked through the blinds in the front of the house to see an entire convoy slowly make their way up the street.

"I don't think we'll be heading off into the desert anymore." Mrs. Clark commented softly by her side. Martina hid a small flinch at the proximity of the woman but otherwise didn't bother concealing her surprise. "With the military combing in, we'll probably be stuck here for a while."

Martina nodded in agreement, "Do you think they'll let us out if we ask?"

Nick's mother tilted her head in consideration. "Daniel doesn't think so. Travis says that we'll be safer with the military making base here. You should bring your bags into the house." Martina turned to look at her in surprise. "At least the bags with your change of clothes. You and Lukas can take Nick's room again."

"Thank you." Martina said softly, "I-I know you don't really like me, and you have every right to throw us out on our asses. So thank you for letting me and brother stay here."

The blonde woman nodded firmly before heading outside onto the front lawn where they could see Mr. Manawa standing almost nervously as he surveyed the street. Martina decided that she may as well grab her and Lukas' duffel bags now before things got chaotic again. Martina followed Mrs. Clark outside and headed to her car,x popping open the trunk as she walked. The street in front of the house was now crowded with military vehicles as army personal roamed the block. Some occasionally knocking on doors and interviewing residents like the guardswoman that had approached Mrs. Clark and Mr. Manawa was prepping to do, while others carried the occasional body bag out of a house. She'd only managed to drag the duffel bag marked as Lukas' out of the trunk, leaving it on the floor before eyeing the military woman curiously when she clicked her pen.

"What's your name, sir?" Martina heard the guardswoman holding onto a heavy-looking clipboard question Mr. Manawa.

"Uh, Travis Manawa."

"And this is your residence?" the woman asked in the same professional manner as she wrote down his name.

"Yes, my girlfriend's house."

"And what's your name, ma'am?"

"Madison Clark." the blonde answered.

"How many occupants?"

"Um, eleven- eleven altogether- and well the dog."

"Big family." the military woman commented not looking away from the clipboard before prompting. "Uh, names, please? I got Travis Manawa and, uh, Madison Clark."

Mr. Manawa was surveying the street nervously before stammering out, "Uh, Nicholas Clark, Alicia Clark, Elizabeth Ortiz, Christopher Manawa," Mrs. Clark shot Martina a nervous look before walking towards the backyard where two more military men were now scoping the area, "Um, Martina Ruiz, Lukas Ruiz... Daniel Salazar, Griselda Salazar, and Ofelia Salazar."

"Okay, make sure that everyone in your family stays inside." the guardswoman instructed as she finished jotting down everyone's names. Another military man was spray painting one of the walls on the outside of Mrs. Clark's house, hopefully, the two men inspecting the inside of the house would be finished by the time she was ready to head back in. Martina nervously chewed on her bottom lip before turning back to her current task on hand and pulling her own duffle bag onto the ground. She shut her trunk purposefully before throwing the strap of Lukas' bag over her shoulder and shakily straightening her back.

Martina flinched when she realized that Mr. Manawa was now standing in front of her, "Shi- wow, you move fast."

The man shot her a sheepish grin before offering kindly, "Let me help you with one of the bags."

"Thank you Mr. Manawa." she smiled at him gratefully. It didn't really take Mr. Manawa much effort to lift the heavy duffle bag up and help her carry it inside.

"We haven't really spoken till now." the man said gently.

"No." she agreed as they dropped off the bags in the living room, "I'm Nick's friend. Everyone calls me Marty, feel free to do the same."

"Travis." the man offered with a smile before heading back outside to the front lawn. Not three seconds later the men inspecting the house finally left as well, but the street was still filled with a surplus of army soldiers weaving in and out of properties.

"Welcome to the new normal," Martina whispered under her breath earning an amused snort from Chris before the teen followed his mom out the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1355  
> ~-~-~-~-~-~
> 
> Sorry, for the wait. This was a bit of a filler chapter...


	13. The New Normal

It wasn't easy sharing a living space with so many people. Especially since Martina had gotten used to only sharing a space with her brother and occasionally Nick when he wanted to crash at her place. Nick's bedroom ended up turning into _their_ bedroom, one that they shared with Lukas and Pingu.

Mrs. Clark had seemed a little uncomfortable at the prospect of Martina and Nick sharing a room until her son pointed out that nothing would _ever_ happen with Lukas sleeping in there too. Something that Martina had a hundred percent agreed with. Besides... it wasn't like Nick was actually sleeping on the same bed Martina and Lukas were in - _no matter how much Martina secretly wished that she was wrapped up in her best friend's comforting arms at night_ \- Nick was sleeping on the blow-up mattress Travis had given them that was placed on the other side of the room.

Still, all things considering... it hadn't been _too_ bad. Though, Martina had found herself spending a lot of one-on-one time with Mrs. Clark who was now insisting she calls her Maddy or at the very least Maddison.

Martina's new routine compromised of waking up at seven-thirty, taking a shower with Lukas before getting her brother and herself dressed for the day, helping Mrs. Clark- _Madison_ prepare breakfast and then help her clean up, tidying up her area, taking Pingu out to use the bathroom and clean up after him, helping Lukas read before helping Mrs. Cla- _Madison_ make a small but filling lunch and clean up again, every other day she helped wash and dry all of the laundry, pray the rosary in Spanish with Griselda since it seemed to make the older woman happy to have company, before going down to play with Lukas for a little while since he was now spending most of his time during the day by the poolside with Nick, helping make the evening meal with Mrs- _Madison_ and clean up once more.

Sometimes after dinner, everyone would awkwardly lounge in the living room and talk about what they did during the day or about everything that was going on outside. Liza had been putting her medical training to use by going around the neighborhood and tending to people with ailments... which was slowly starting to make Mrs. Clark- dammit, _Madison_ seethe with rage since the woman wasn't pulling her weight in the house. Travis - _why was it so much easier for her to refer to the man by his first name rather than his given-_ had, in Nick's words, gotten all buddy-buddy with the soldiers and had somehow become like the neighborhood mayor and go-between for the military personal and regular civilians.

Griselda was pretty much bound to her bed so her husband Daniel spent his days simply attending to the injured woman. Their daughter Ofelia mostly helped out with her mother and accompanied Alicia to get the daily rations for the household. Otherwise, Ofelia and Alicia both seemed to waste their days away doing whatever they felt like. Chris was pretty much the same, though he seemed to have claimed the roof as his designated perch and hang out place, Martina could occasionally hear him narrating to his camera whenever she walked outside.

Nick wasn't handling the detox too well. He'd come to her almost immediately when he realized that one of the patients Liza was tending to had morphine to manage his pain. The temptation to steal the dying man's drugs had almost overcome him before Nick had gone running to her and burying his face into her short locks.

( _"I-I, shit, I'm going to be a dad. You_ need _me. Lukas needs me. Our_ babies _need me. But-" he sobbed softly into her hair, "all I want to do is get stoned- so that- so I can stop thinkin' a little while."_

_Martina hugged him tightly before whispering in a comforting manner, "Tell me what's scaring you, Nicky."_

_"I- I know you said tha-that I'm good enough for you, but what if I f-fuck up? And our babies don' make it or if I'm a failure of dad or-"_

_"Hey," Martina interrupted him, "Hey, no. Shh. Look at me. You're great with kids. Lukas adores you! Hell, you've basically been the only dad he's_ ever _known. I-I can't promise that things are always going to be perfect, but you need to believe in yourself more._ You _are the strongest and most determined person I've ever met."_

_Nick snorted disdainfully, "I'm a fuckin' addict Marty."_

_"Yeah, well so am I." Martina said sternly, "I'm addicted to you aren't I?"_

_That comment set Nick off into wet chuckles before he pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead, "That- so fucking cheesy!")_

After that though, Nick decided that the only way he'd be able to stave off temptation was by keeping himself busy with Lukas and Pingu. After breakfast, he would sit at the table with Lukas and some old workbooks before showing him how to count or teach him how to write new words. Then the two of them would usually play with the dog or Nick would be coerced into playing with Lukas's action figures or legos.

The three of them would curl up on the couch and Martina would read a chapter from the 'Magic Treehouse' series. After lunch, Nick would take Lukas and Pingu to the pool for a couple of hours before he'd bring her brother back tired and sated. Mrs. Cl- _Madison_ had seemed rather impressed by this 'new side' of her son that she'd never witnessed before... She had even asked Martina if Nick was ever like that when he'd crashed at her place before.

( _"Well, yeah." Martina murmured, "He's always been really good to Lukas... Even when he was coming down from a high, Nick never raised his voice or ever told my brother 'no.' Lukas really looks up to him."_

_Mrs. Clark was quiet for a moment, "He's come around even he got- was... and you were okay with that?"_

_Martina shrugged, "Yes and no. Nick only ever crashed at my apartment when he was coherent because he didn't have any cash to score, or when he was starving or_ really _wanted to sleep in an actual bed for the night. But he knows, with all of the things I went through with my mom that I don't want that around Lukas. He's always respected that rule." she said, not ashamed of omitting the reason why Martina and Nick hadn't seen each other until now for three months, "I'm pretty sure that he also never wants Lukas to_ see _him like that..."_ )

Come to think of it, later that evening was when the woman had instructed her to call her Madison... Of course, Martina's favorite part of her new routine was the hour at night she'd spend relaxing with Nick in the safety of his bedroom.

The older teen was rather transfixed with Martina's baby bump and always demanded that she take off whatever baggy article of clothing she'd put on that morning so that he could properly admire it. The first night she'd done so Nick's eyes had widened before he hesitatingly placed his warm large hand on the bare skin of her belly before gently rubbing circles on the firm bump. Martina and Nick had made the unanimous decision to continue concealing her pregnancy from the rest of his family... For now, after all, it was still _new_ to Nick. It hadn't been very easy to stress the importance of their secret to Lukas... her brother _was_ beyond proud that he'd be a 'big brother' in a few months.

But after Nick had stated that it was a super-secret mission and that they had to protect Martina and the babies like Lukas's favorite red-gold superhero. Well, Lukas became more than enthusiastic about keeping it a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1372  
> ~-~-~-~-~-~  
> -~-~-~-~-  
> HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!


	14. Midnight Run

It was a beautiful day. The chaotic affair that comprised of lunch had ended about forty minutes ago. Martina had just finished helping Mrs. Clark- _Madison_ with the dirty dishes and was getting ready to go upstairs to join Griselda for a little while. The second Martina caught sight of Alicia's annoyed expression as the teen walked into the room she'd scattered. Martina really did _not_ want to get caught up in any more family drama. By the time she was passing Ofelia on the staircase, Martina could hear Alicia's raised voice wafting from downstairs. She was only thankful that she'd been able to escape from that awkward situation before it blossomed.

" _Buenas tardes, Señora Griselda._ " Martina greeted the tired woman after getting the go-ahead to enter the room.

The injured woman sent her a kind smiled, " _Hola Martina, cómo ha sido su día?"_

_"Bien."_ Martina grinned, " _Te gustó el almuerzo? Recuerdi que me dijiste cómo disfrutabas la sopa de frijoles negros, así que le pregunté a la_ _Señora Cla-_ _Madison si podíamos hacerlo."_

_"Muchas gracias, me encantó."_ Mrs. Salazar smiled gratefully, " _Dónde está tu hermanito? Estás lista para rezar el rosario conmigo ahora?"_

_"Lukas está en la piscina con Nick. Entonces, sí, estoy lista para rezar."_ Martina responded in an easy manner as the aging woman handed her a red rosary.

" _Entonces comencemos. En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y el Espíritu Santo-_ " the Salvadorian started reverently, her eyes closed in prayer. Martina smiled softly repeating the words and doing the sign of the cross as well. It didn't take them too long to go around the prayer beads and conclude the rosary. Maybe twenty minutes or so.

" _Gracias cariño, puedes ir a cuidar a tu hermanito ahora_ " the woman whispered thankfully before patting Martina's hand in a kind manner.

Martina shot her a small shy smile, " _No hay problema, fue un placer como siempre_." she murmured before adding, " _Si necesitas algo, no temas preguntarme!_ "

" _Vaya con Dios._ " the religious woman replied before informing her tiredly, _"Porfabor cierra la puerta, quiero_ _tomar una siesta ahora, estoy muy cansada._ "

The secretly pregnant nineteen-year-old grinned with sympathy and quietly shut the door behind her before startling when she walked into Mr. Salazar in the hallway. "Oh, sorry," Martina whispered sheepishly as she rubbed her arm awkwardly.

The man nodded stopping her before she could go around him towards the stairs, "I want to thank you, for keepin' my wife company. It means a lot to Griselda, it helps keep her mind off the pain."

Martina blushed at the normally standoffish man's praise, "O-Oh, um, no problem. When my _abuela_ was around, I used to pray the _rosario_ with her... it's been nice speaking in Spanish with someone. I-I haven't really done it in a while."

Mr. Salazar eyed her curiously, "You clearly have a Spaniard accent when you speak, were your parents from Spain."

"Yeah." Martina nodded, "My parents moved here before we were born, but my _papi_ didn't want us to lose our heritage even if we were living _here,_ so we grew up with only Spanish in the house."

The Salvadorian chuckled softly, "My wife and I did the opposite with Ofelia so that she would learn English faster."

Martina grinned in amusement, "I should probably speak in Spanish more, _así que no tengas miedo. Empieza a hablarme en este idioma mas, Señor Salazar. De todos modos, n_ _ecesito comenzar a sumergir a Lukas con el español_."

"Daniel." he offered, smiling at her kindly for the first time since she'd met him, " _Cuídate_." Mr. Salazar said over his shoulder as he entered the room housing his wife.

What was it with all the adults in her life now asking Martina to address them by their first names? Shaking her head a little in disbelief, Martina decided that it was time to finally go join Nick and Lukas by the poolside. Martina was already wearing cotton shorts and a tank top under her hoodie so she decided to simply make her way there without changing. As she got closer she could hear Pingu barking and Lukas' amused giggles as well as the sound of water splashing raucously.

"Hey, you made it." Nick teased as he swam to the edge and hauled himself up to sit with his legs still dangling in the water, "You missed my mother handing over my afternoon pills and then getting splashed by Pingu when the dog jumped into the pool."

Martina raised a brow as she sat beside him, "Were you still able to take them?"

"Yeah." Nick snorted, "But my mom had to hightail it back inside to change. She was soaked." he added gleefully before turning to Lukas, "Right squirt?"

"Yup!" her brother giggled mischievously as he swam towards them before hanging onto Martina's bare legs, "Missus Clark screamed real loud. It was _really_ funny!"

Said dog barked merrily as he jumped into the water once more from the opposite side of the pool and made his way towards them happily. "Pingu looks real proud of himself too."

Nick chortled, "Yeah, why _wouldn't_ he be?"

After night hit, and the occupants of the house were sleeping, Martina and Nick enacted their plan from the previous night. The Cruzes house had been barred from entry by the uniformed men patrolling their neighborhood. For the last nine days, Pingu had been eating everyone's scrapes, but the german shepherd's body was starting to pay for it. All Martina wanted was to grab a couple bags of dog food and Pingu's leash from his original owner's place. They couldn't tell the soldiers to look out for dog food or even to go and grab Pingu's supplies from the house since Mrs- _Madison_ had lied to some men that one of their dogs had died and was buried in the back yard to cover up the fact that they'd been exposed to Mr. Dawson's body.

Pingu was a good dog and had taken to guarding Lukas and Martina with a fervor that she was only happy to continue nurturing. Especially since a little added protection, even of the furry kind, wouldn't be remise in the world they were living in now. Nick was the one who came up with the plan to break into the house across the street and simply _take_ what they needed for the dog... it wasn't really hard to convince Martina anyway. They would store their ill-begotten goods in Martina's SUV and only grab what they needed to feed Pingu with every day... That was another thing that caused Mr. Manawa to look at her strangely.

Other than the duffle bags with clothes, Martina had never unpacked her car. Martina was growing ever more suspicious of the military men camping out in the neighborhood. Keeping her car full of supplies in case they needed to bug out quickly only made sense. Nick didn't really help curb Martina's paranoia, since he seemed to mirror her belief as well.

It was surprisingly _easy_ to break into the Cruzes home. Nick had scoped the area out earlier in the morning and had already shimmied the lock of the backdoor open, so all they had to do was sneak across the street when the shift changed for their army watchers. The layout of the house was pretty similar to the Clarks but the stained patches of old blood on the floor and walls were certainly different. Martina tried not to let the gruesome scene bother her too much, but something must have given her away since Nick's hand came to grip her own in a comforting manner before he led her into the Cruzes kitchen.

"Come on, let's just get what we need." Nick murmured, as he carefully shined his flashlight on the floor and away from the windows, "Here's the pantry."

"Kay." Martina whispered back as she shrugged off her empty backpack and unzipped it while Nick opened the pantry and began rifling through it.

"Here." Nick returned after a few moments with cans of wet dog food. Martina carefully began arranging them in the bag as her not - _maybe_ \- boyfriend, she really needed to sit Nick down and actually _talk_ to him about _what_ they _are_ to one another soon, began bringing her more doggy related items. Her bag was quickly filled to the brim with dog food cans, Pingu's leash and harness, a special doggy nail clipper and brush, Nick would carry the heavy bag of dried dog food in his arms.

"Let's check the cabinets for any medicine before we go." Martina piped up right before they left causing Nick's eyebrow to rise almost incredulously. "Don't look at me like that, maybe they'll have something for Griselda so your mom stops giving them your pills. I'm worried, we're almost out."

Nick smiled at her softly, "Okay, but stop worrying so damn much. I'll be just _fine_."

They made quick work as they meticulously searched through every cabinet in the house before coming together with their finds at the back door. "I found the motherlode." Martina whispered excitedly, "Fever reducers, allergy medication, tums, vitamins, I even found some prenatal vitamins and kid-friendly medicine."

"Nice," Nick whispered, "All I found was Advil and some dick enhancing drugs in the night table."

" _Really_?" Martina asked incredulously before backtracking as she felt her expression crumble into disgust, "Never mind, I don't wanna know."

Laughter bubbled out of Nick's chest, "Let's get out of here."

Storing their new stuff was a hell of a lot more nerve-wracking than getting them, but between the two of them, they got the job done quickly and efficiently before sneaking back inside and crashing for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words 1666


End file.
